not guilty on all charges. those words sent waves of emotion, mostly shock, through a prince george's county courtroom. >> alexis such son, the former bowie student accused of murdering her roommate is a free woman tonight after that bombshell of a verdict. our ken molestina was in the courtroom. he has reaction from both sides. >> reporter: after three days of emotional testimony and grueling details the jury sided with alexis simpson agreeing that dominique's killing was in self-defense. >> truth prevailed, that's all i can say. >> reporter: friends and family of alexis simpson registed as they left a courtroom. it took the jury about three hours to return with a not

guilty verdict on all seven counts simpson was facing. >> thank you god. >> reporter: simpson gave emotional testimony saying she didn't mean to kill her roommate dominique frazier when she swung a knife and cut her throat. attorneys maintained it was in self-defense because she feared for her safety. the jury bought that story. >> we are very disappointed tonight. we presented what we thought was very clear and strong evidence, and there are no winners tonight. this is a very sad case. it it has been throughout the duration. >> reporter: the defense chose to put simpson on the stand because according to them they wanted to cop vy her thoughts that night. >> her emotion was very genuine, and she is tremendously remorseful for this incident. it has affected her emotionally in ways that you can only imagine. >> reporter: it was that testimony that may have convinced the jury, but as you

would imagine those outside the courtroom had plenty to sound off on. >> she doesn't need to be walking the streets. >> very happy. >> reporter: alexis simpson sobbed in the courtroom as the jury red their not guilty vied. we spoke to the defense team. they say she does plan on resuming her collegiate studies but that it won't be at bow way state. >> shocking verdict. thank you, ken. as d.c. tries and fails to implement the medical marijuana law that passed back in 2010 the washington guardian sent us videotape of president obama calling for decriminalization eight years ago. his posture as president has been far different from his posture as a candidate in 2004. as gary nurenberg looked into the story he found d.c. may soup be facing some unintended marijuana consequences from its own law. >> reporter: for more than two years d.c. has been trying to get its bureaucracy ready to

handle the new medical marijuana law and it is not ready yet. as d.c. was doing that a president who smoked a lot of dope when he was a kid has led an administration recently cracking down on other cities offering medical marijuana to sick patients whose doctors have prescribed it. the washington guardian posted the video. >> and i think that we need to rethink and de criminalize our marijuana laws, and i'm not somebody -- but i'm not somebody who believes in legalization. >> reporter: that was then. >> from november 20101st 1 through today -- from november 2011 through today there have been more medical marijuana dispensaries busted now than in eight years of george bush's administration. >> reporter: why? >> i think the reason why this happened is for try angulation, that obama was not going to go into this election with his opponents hanging him out to dry as allowing marijuana to

become legal on his watch. >> reporter: 18 taits and d.c. have medical marijuana laws now. because d.c.'s medical marijuana law has not yet been fully implemented by the city, cultivators can grow marijuana but dispense res can't yet sell it, leading to a potentially interesting consequence. >> if the cultivators are not able to sell their product to the dispense raes while they're waiting for them to open that means the product is going to go up in price. we could possibly end up with a case where the medical marijuana from the dispensaries would be more expensive than would these individuals could find it on the street. >> reporter: matt doherty owns garden resources of washington. his e-mail address, growdc.com. >> i think that d.c. really dropped the ball. >> reporter: so how long it will take for d.c. to implement its medical marijuana law? when asked in july last year, 2011, health department officials said they expected the law to be implemented by may 20 12, six months ago. don't hold your breath.

derek. >> i won't. thank you, gary. you can see the entire video of mr. obama discussing decriminalizing marijuana on our website, wusa9.com. a tragic ending to a parade honoring wounded veterans. four people are dead, 17 injured after a train hit their float. this was the seen in midland texas a few hours ago. the vets were on their way to a bank wet when they were hit by a -- banquet when they were hit by a train. tomorrow former cia director david petraeus will appear on capitol hill. this will be his first public appearance since he resigned last week. pethokoukis will be meeting with lawmakers behind closed doors and discussing that attack on the u.s. consulate inbenghazi. earlier today members of the president's national security team answered lawmakers' questions. congress now trying to piece together what happened before, during, and after the attack

which killed ambassador chris stevens and three other americans. and tomorrow president obama welcomes congressional leaders to the white house where they will be discussing that fiscal cliff and trying to figure out some sort of deal. if they can't make it happen on january 1st the bush era tax cuts expire and some drastic budget cuts will king. the president says any deal must include asking wealthier americans to pay more in taxes. the president also toured staten island today, getting a firsthand look at the damage from superstorm sandy. he visited a neighborhood where 19 people were killed. the president thanked first responders, military personnel and fema workers for helping in the recovery. 47,000 new yorkers have applied for housing help through fema. many of them want the government to act faster. the president urged insurance companies to, quote, show some heart and some spirit in helping people rebuild. ,everyonce in awhile you hear the story of a person who has overcome unthinkable adversity to rise above and soar.

tonight the children's defense fund honored ten such teens. >> eva maria, let me tell you about this girl. >> the police would be at our house constantly. basically i was forced to grow up. i couldn't bea kid any more. senate's not often video exists, the most terrifying night of your life. but for 17-year-old eva marie, this was the turning point. >> that completely changed my life because my dad was not there any more. >> reporter: she already add rough childhood. >> my dad was an alcoholic, and that affected the family because he lost his job and he was abusive. >> reporter: then this. it was 2006. police say her dad brutally attacked two friends with a machete. he went on the run. her mom had to support four

kids alone. >> not having enough to eat, not having a place to live. >> reporter: she was 11. she practically raised her brothers and sisters. she went to school, she worked, she maintained a 3.8 gpa. the children's defense fund will give her a $10,000 scholarship along with nine other winners. the program is called beat the odds, and she is. >> i don't regret, like, having to face those obstacles, because i actually feel lucky that it's made me the person who i am now. >> reporter: and the person she is now is truly inspiring. her dad has been in and out of her life. last year he was deported. >> after winning the scholarship, i changed my way of thinking and found, like, that i can't hate him, because he's my dad, and he's not here, but i still have a lot of opportunity. >> what a beautiful woman inside and out.

the scholarship also includes a laptop and other help. she is applying to colleges now. she wants to study science or medicine and she says one day she wants to make sure her mom doesn't have to work any more. don't go anywhere. tonight's food alert is served up with a side of roaches. going out to eat this weekend? you may want to watch this first. and is your dishwasher safe? this woman came home to find hers smoking. and she's not alone. this is a warning for all of us. i'm meteorologist topper shutt. high temperature 51 today. average high is 59. your wake-up weather, clouds to start and chilly. 36 to 44 at 5:00. we'll come back. i've made some more changes to sunday. good or bad? stay tuned.

the workhorse in one lady's kitchen did more than just clean her dishes. she says it almost burned her house down. a virginia woman contacted our consumer expert lesli foster when she came home to the smell of smoke and then couldn't get any help from the company that made her dishwasher. it's a story you will see only on 9. >> i opened my front door. i immediately smelled a punjent electrical smell of fire. i felt the countertop. it was burning hot. i opened the dishwasher, and i immediately saw that the trays had started to discolor, there was also heat wafting out at me. these trays turned a dark orange. >> she says her dishwasher started up wail she was gone. >> when i left the house the dishwasher door was closed but

i had not activated it. it turned itself on while i was out of the house. >> reporter: how that happened is still a mystery. according to consumer reports more than 15 million appliance units in the past five years have been recalled for problems that could cause a fire. their analysis of complaints sent to the consumer product safety commission showed almost half of those recalled units were dishwashers, and a significant number of appliance problems were not caused by human error. >> we found at least 23% are clearly attributable to problems with the appliances. mechanical, electrical, or design flaws. in some instances the appliances turned on by themselves. >> reporter: when jennifer contacted ge about the problem she says the company offered little to no help. >> the offer was to try replacing a parted that they don't know definitively caused the problem, and for me to keep the same unit in my house. i think it's very irresponsible. >> reporter: so we reached out to ge to help get some answers. initially ge offered jennifer a vouch tore cover part of the

cost to replace her dishwasher, then they reconsidered, and in a statement they said they were sorry for jennifer's experience and touted their excellent safety and consumer satisfaction record. they also offered to replace her dishwasher or give her a refund. >> for about $670 to buy a new unit. >> reporter: the company also plans to take jennifer's old unit and do some research to did he recall what's wrong. for now, she's washing dishes by hand, and jennifer says she won't ever bay a ge product again. >> they've lost my customer loyalty. >> reporter: but you did get some action. >> only because of you. >> reporter: lesli foster, 9 news now. >> only lesli foster could slay the evil dishwasher. ge says jennifer's experience is actually rare. the company recalled 1.3 million dishwashers in august. there was an electrical failure in the heating element. but jennifer's molg was not one

is those. if you want to protect your home, register your appliances. don't use your dishwasher at night or while you're away. check your electrical wiring if your home is older. you need to be sure it can handle the demands of these modern appliances. in tonight's food alert, roaches on a meat slicer at a white table cloth restaurant in bethesda. >> here's investigative reporter russ ptacek. >> reporter: everywhere we go, we ask the same question. can we take a look right now at your kitchen? right now means different things to different people. at this chinese restaurant in wheaton they told us they had cleaned up the violation and we could look for ourselves if we'd just wait a couple of minutes. then there was a flurry of activity at the hanging duck. >> it's been over 10 minutes now. >> reporter: they were cleaning up. >> we're now over 20 minutes.

customers continued to order carry out. >> i ordered duck. >> reporter: you had duck today? >> i had a duck and the pig. >> reporter: are you going to eat it? >> don't know. >> reporter: over 36 minutes later they're telling us we can thou go in and take a look at the kitchen. when we got in the kitchen, the drain was still covered with debris and the floor was so wet, we couldn't identify the mush we found but health inspectors cited mice droppings, heavily soiled equipment, and ordered a closure saying hanging pork and duck were stored at temperatures experts say could make you sick. in the district, at mason inn on wisconsin avenue in clover park the owner said he had only been without hot water an hour but declined to schedule an interview.

no hot water meaning no way to properly wash hands was also the problem insilver spring. this wasn't the first time for el pollo kiki riki. this summer they were shut down for no proper refrigeration. at tysons galleria an inspector shut down williams-sonoma for serving without a food safety manager. in bethesda, 25 years of white table cloths and fine dining at tragara came to a sickening end when inspectors crated 24 violations finding mice droppings on the shelf, food prep tables, storage, and waiter stations, in company with live roaches on the meat slicer. tragara was in the middle of a sale and did not reopen after the closure.

the new owners are cleaning up. workers were assembling new chairs and polishing the now empty kitchen and changing the name. >> i guarantee those violations are no longer in place. i've worked hard and my entire staff has worked hard to get the entire kitchen up to code. >> all those places have been reinspected, passed, and are back in business. russ ptacek, 9news. thank goodness the man finally got himself some gloves. >> seriously. live roaches on the meat slicer. i'm never going to get that picture out of my head. >> if you're a roach, that's where i would go. at your own peril. >> because you could end up part of the meal. >> and therein lies the problem. all right, 51 today was the high. 59 is the average. temperatures will be creeping up slowly. and the weekend looks pretty good. let's start with a live look outside. it is our michael and son weather cam. that's national airport. we're looking at temperatures in the 40s. it's cloudy. that's keeping temperatures up.

dew points in the low 30s. temperatures are going to go that low tonight. winds north-northeast at 7, pressure falling, 30.32 inches of mercury. so satellite picture, radar gained, here's our pesky low pressure. it's well offshore but it is producing some light rain across eastern north carolina and even up into southern maryland. in fact, i had to add the chance for some sprinkles or showers for southern maryland and primarily east of i-95. everything will pull away quickly tomorrow. we're still looking for a very nice friday. we are going to have some clouds in the morning. in fact, here's our futurecast. 6:30, clouds back to frederick and leesburg and manassas, but they skedaddle pretty fast. by 4:00 or 5:00 they're out of the delmarva. we will start with a few morning clouds friday. so chilly start at the bus stop friday. you will eventually need your shades and a jacket. we're looking at morning clouds but a nice day, very nice day.

not much wind. that's going make it feel a little better. the weekend looks okay. we've removed showers and clouds from sunday. overnight mostly cloudy and chilly. sprinkles and showers south and east of town, calvert county, st. mary's. not much it at all in terms of heavy activity. becoming partly cloudy in the morning, a chilly start, 30s and 40s, winds north-northeast at 10, then by afternoon, a very nice day. mostly sunny and cool, almost seasonable. we're getting there. highs near 55, winds out of the north-rtheast at 10. the good news, not much wind. our alerts are green, green, and green. cool but nice on friday, a few clouds. mostly sunny, 54. gorgeous on saturday for the terps. 5 4. we took out the clouds on sunday, 55. nice for the redskins. next seven days, i'll leave a cloud early on monday, but we took out all the showers. still in the mid if i was on

monday. tuesday, upper 50s with sunshine. travel day wednesday, great. partly cloudy, temperatures in the mid-50s. and travel is very quiet weather-wise in most of the 48 contiguous states. the exception california. turkey day, too war. sunshine and 59. >> oh, come on that is lovely. >> if you want to have a fire, a perfect turkey day, temperatures in the 30s and snowing. that's perfect. >> that sounds hardly perfect. the redskins are taking on a rookie quarterback. >> doesn't matter. fear of the you know known? maybe not, but certainly an uneasiness. who is nick foals, and why are the redskins on high alert? what if i told you maryland suffered another devastating injury. would you believe in the you better. next.

only in washington, d.c. do the 3-6 football team and the word playoffs get used in the same sentence. yes, the skins have a lot of division games left but as derek mcginty would say, let's get real.

the redskins don't look anything like a playoff team and here come the eagles starting a rookie quarterback nick foles. rookies have feasted on washington lately. cam newton, sam bradford burned burgundy and gold so mike shanahan and jim haslett were asked today about what they knew about sir nick. >> just really don't know for sure. we were lucky enough to have him for a we can at the senior bowl. he's a great kid, a lot of ability. >> a lot of young guys playing in the league, a lot of young quarterbacks. we got one. he's just another one. that's like six rookies starting in the league this week. he's a good football player. >> wow, six rookies starting in the league. proof once again that we go anywhere for good football. our game of the week poll winner is walkersville and middle town, maryland. more than 1,000 voters. highlights tomorrow leading our coverage at 11:00. maryland has already lost all their quarterbacks. go ahead and add their leading rusher to the list of the

wounded. wes brown will need shoulder surgery after injuring himself in the wake forest game. recovery time 20 weeks. wow, hard to believe. all right, meanwhile virginia and nc. that's gangnam style. kevin parks stuck in neutral. north carolina with a great goal line style. later in the drive, virginia defense allergic to covering giovanni bernard. virginia wins 37-13. finally tonight, derek, you are gonna love this. au and mount st. mary's. barn burner on nebraska. steven lumpkin, call him the tidy bowl man. game high 21, mount st. mary's going for the win. eagles win 52-57, and mr. mcginty is going to be happy. >> au!

>> he's done.

anybody got kids at the movies tonight? there we go. got to ask you. team edward or team jacob? >> yes, well, moving on. >> a big night for twi-hards. "breaking dawn part 2" hit theaters tonight. bella is getting used to her

new life as a vamp fire and a mom when the cullen clan comes under threat. the movie raid pg-13 is probably going to draw some serious crowds tonight. you're picking up a daughter, right? >> i am. >> you cannot be a vamp fire and a mom. that is not what vamp fires do -- that is not what vampires do. let's be real tomorrow on why those aren't really vampires. >> we're always on at wusa9.com. [ harry umlaut ] that's one creamy muller.

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